stephyblue Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Hi there, I'm new to chicken keeping and was wondering if you can tell if they are too fat. My babies like eating lots of kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s and two of them seem to be getting a bit big. I've heard they will stop laying! Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandychick Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 How much are they eating in kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurmurf Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Hi, we were concerned about this too. The advice seems to be to make sure they are getting their fill of layers pellets/mash before they get any treats or kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s. Their crops can only hold just so much per day, apparently, and if they fill them with the 'wrong' things, then they don't get the nutrition they need. That's all very well but mine free range all day so it's harder to control. what we've done is open the door to the cube but leave them in the run for half an hour to get them to eat some mash, then let them out. I've also stopped giving them any corn or treats until late afternoon, so i know what they've had lots of. I found too that while i was using pellets the girls were always looking for treats because i couldn't get them to eat many. Now i've changed to mash (by food processing the pellets) they are eating far more of it and are demanding less. When it comes to treats the big favourite is dried meal worms and apples! good luck with your girls, it could be they are just healthy girls and not fat at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 One of mine is a right porker! Her crop is often visibly stretched full. And she's bigger than the others. Can't really do anything about it as they all get the same food! Bless her, I guess its just the way some of us carry it. I shouldn't worry about it. I can't imagine a chicken getting all that much too fat as they are so active. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephyblue Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hi there, Thanks for your posts! The girls stay in their run until 11am with just layers so it sounds like they should be eating a reasonable amount in that time. I fed them some macaroni and cheese as a treat about dinner time, then corn on the cob - it really entertains them trying to pick off all the bits and then they have grain for tea. Not too bad I hope. Thanks again Steph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Pimlott Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Treats should be just that once or maybe twice a week. everything needed to sustain your birds health & lay you a good egg is in the layers pellet/ mash that you feed... Birds will become fat, fat = lazy lazy = no eggs & you will shorten the lifespan of your birds too. Hybrids should live a good 5 to 7 years when fed correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
